I. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to coatings, particularly conductive coatings generally classified in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Class 361/216, 361/216, 361/220, and 361/221; Class 106/284.05; Class 156/71 and 156/289; and Class 428/408 and 428/922; and possibly Class 361/216.
II. Description of the Prior Art
"Microwave Transmission and Reflection of Carbon Fiber Mat" by J. F. Lindsey III, Southern Illinois University, describes microwave reflection and transmission of Ashland Carboflex.RTM. mat, a general purpose carbon fiber mat produced by Ashland Carbon Fibers, division of Ashland Oil, Inc., Ashland, Ky., and indicate very low power transmission characteristic with attenuation in excess of 65 dB and provides "excellent microwave shielding".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,568 to Whewell teaches antistatic conductive construction material useful for covering floors and walls comprising ground graphite and colloidal carbon particles. (It is understood that this technique makes only gray and dark colors and provides conductivity which is non-uniform.)
U.S. Pat. No. 3,121,825 to Abegg discloses conductive flooring containing a netting, preferably soldered, or continuous metal sheet with a thermosetting plastic applied over the conductive layer. This technique requires ground metal to be included in the formulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,323,461 to Donelson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,413,610 to Donelson, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,457,299 to Biemesderfer also relate to electrically conductive floors.
Other patents showing laminates, mats, and sheets used in antistatic applications are: U.S. 4,724,187 to Ungar, U.S. 4,438,174 to Whewell, U.S. 4,472,474 to Grosheim, U.S. 4,728,395 to Boyd, U.S. 4,219,608 to Conklin, U.S. 4,347,104 to Dressler, U.S. 4,540,624 to Cannady, U.S. 4,557,968 to Thronton, and U.S. 4,567,094 to Levin.
None of the above patents combines the ease of formation with the resulting uniform highly conductive coating, capable of being made in even light colors, of the present invention.